Tricks
by phantom-lass
Summary: Just a little oneshot that popped into my head. A moment between the newly married Marianne and Brandon and what the servants think. Enjoy.


**I don't own Sense and Sensibility or any of the character – only borrowing them.**

**Tricks**

Delaford was silent. It was no one's fault it was just the type of house that never really attracted a lot of noise – indeed, the only noise that was generally heard was when the master threw a house party, or a picnic – but those occasions were very few and far between.

But now...Now everything had changed and the servant welcomed the change, both to the house and to their master.

For no man – in their opinion – deserved happiness more than he.

So, on this morning, the silence that had engulfed the house was shattered by a playful squeal coming from the master's drawing room and seconds later the door burst open to reveal the young mistress of the house running through it with something gripped tightly in her small fist. The servants had grown used to this and were not as shocked as they once had been when they saw the master close on her heals as she ran towards one of the drawing rooms, her happy laughter almost like a sirens call to their once gloomy yet fair master.

From the first day that Miss Marianne Dashwood had entered the grand house as Mrs Christopher Brandon almost three months ago it had been clear to them all that she intended to bring cheer and laughter to the master's life and they were all more than willing to help – making themselves invisible when she took it into her head to be playful.

The cook, who had a great many of opinions on the upper classes, decided that she liked the young mistress from the start, for (so she said) they expected their children to behave like little adults and it was nice to see a young lady enjoying life and bringing joy to the Colonel.

"Marianne," they heard the colonel yell after his young wife and the butler gave the housekeeper a smile as they both visualised what was happening at this minute in the room just of the hall where they were standing.

They had no doubt that, at that moment, the master and mistress of the house had made it through the connecting door from the sitting room to the dining room, and that they were both at opposite's sides of the dining table. The master more than likely had one of the fakest frowns on his face that any of them had ever seen and the mistress no doubt had a wide grin on her face and was silently celebrating the fact that she had got her husband out of his study.

"Yes, Christopher dearest," they could hear the smile in her voice and some of the younger house maids giggled as they raised their heads from their various jobs. Though the master did acy annoyed with their mistress everyone from the butler to the stable boy knew that he adored his wife and would never be vexed with her.

"Miss Marianne," the voice was stern but gentle and deep even through the door.

"Yes Colonel Brandon," came the giggled reply.

Everyone in the house knew the general routine of these little interludes to their day and they waited for the familiar creek of the floor boards as the Colonel shifted his weight in preparation to rush to the other side of the table - and just as always he never made it in time. They listened for the scuffle as the mistress darted for the door before her husband could get her and ran from the dining room, giggling crazily.

She rushed from the door and they heard the squeak of her shoes on the floor and finally got to see that it was a bit of paper she was holding in her hand.

She bolted past the head butler and housekeeper who schooled their faces into strict expressions.

"Wonderful job on the dining room table Mr Toms, I could see my face in it," she gasped as she went.

"Thank you ma'am," the butler replied as she vanished around the corner and the master came from the dining room.

He stood against the door frame and both Toms and the housekeeper noted the happy glint in his eyes and the smile that played at the corner of his mouth.

"It would appear Toms that my wife had mutinied yet again," the master smiled, shaking his head.

"Indeed sir," the butler replied calmly, years of self control and practice allowing him to not show his amusement.

"With just cause," came a muffled explanation from outside the dining room window.

The master turned around and in doing so shifted far enough to the side for both the silently amused butler and housekeeper to see the mistress grinning through the window with the paper still gripped firmly in her hand.

The master spun and made for the door of the house and it wasn't long after, that looking out if one of the top floor windows, one of the older house maids saw the master holding the mistress tightly pressed against his chest both of then grinning. She watched as the master dipped his head and pressed his lips to his wife's as the young lady curled one arm around her husband's neck. She squinted nearer to the window – nearly pressing her nose to the cold glass – the mistress still had one hand firmly behind her back something clutched in her hand.

She smiled softly to herself and pulled away from the window.

So the mistress was up to her old tricks.

"Well, good for her,"

**Hi.**

**I was just watching the newest BBC adaptation and this little scene popped into my head. I dodnt know Brandon's first name so I googled it :)**

**Oneshot for now but who knows...**

**Reviews are great.**

**Hope you enjoyed. :)**


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